


Burnt Pumpkins

by Shadowdianne



Series: Halloween series [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU setting, F/F, Haunted House, Swan Mills Family, ghostbuster marathon, hocus pocus references, necromancer regina, vampire!character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-10
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-21 18:49:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 16,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8256601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowdianne/pseuds/Shadowdianne
Summary: Compliation of all the Halloween prompts I will be taking through all october on Tumblr 2.0! Aka the return of the Pumpkin Specials.





	1. In where Regina is a necromancer

**_Regina as a necromancer; asked by @britannysnieve via whatsapp_ **

The graveyard was covered in thick fog. Its tendrils climbed up the slowly crumbling headstones in which names of long forgotten members of families long ago neglected by time and heirs stared back at the single silhouette that moved through the dark, muddy floor and rotting leaves squelched under her feet. The moment was coming the moon already crossing the sky in a lazy arc which brown eyes followed triumphantly as gleaming lips parted in a smirk.

It had been too long, Regina reflected, her right hand caressing the moss-covered headstone of some general, her fingers curling at the edge of it as she tilted her head, brown tresses shadowing her face while she counted the seconds away; The spell she had been preparing for months now curled on the back of her throat, making the glyphs embedded in the single pendant she wore around her neck to glow ever so slightly, a last minute detail being added to the formula.

The fog seemed to thin behind her, a dirty white fog almost indistinguishable from the one that surrounded the place seemed to reach for the brunette’s back before it retreated quickly, leaving a tall woman behind, her green eyes shining darkly in the night air of October.

“It’s time” The voice of the newcomer was deep and jaded, causing Regina to look at her from atop her shoulder, a cruel smile curving her lips even more when the scent of magic of the other woman reached her nostrils.

“We need to wait.” She instructed softly, her tone velvety and low, the equal reflection of the other woman whose pale skin seemed to glow under the dim iridescent light of the moon.

“But…”

Regina raised one single hand, her index finger slightly raised in order to indicate silence, her whole posture stiff as she kept the count of the seconds with the other hand, the rattling sound of nails against stone filling the space between the other woman and herself.

“I’ve waited for this hex to be perfect,” Regina’s voice didn’t let anything to discuss. Eyeing the other woman with one languid look she pursed her lips before continuing. “Punctuality is a must and you know it, Emma.”

The enchantress narrowed her eyes but said nothing, her tall frame hovering over the one of Regina; hard planes and concealed curves under pressed leather clothing moving against voluptuous curves clothed in dark blue. A movement that was met with a low and rumbling growl that made the green-eyed woman kiss the still raised hand with devotion. “I will wait.” She promised, raising her head, lips pressing against a cold earlobe she proceeded to nip. “Just be quick, I cannot wait to see you like this.”

That last sentence elicited one single laugh that bubbled out the brunette’s lips before quickly being swallowed by the fog that did nothing but crowded around the two women; the moonlight glowing indolently against it. Regina rose both hands above her head, her magic sparkling between her fingers, crackling and buzzing as her tongue rolled with practice, one single sentence appearing on her mind; it was time.

Time for the night of the dead, time in which death and life mixed and shared until nothing but shadows were left. With one final push the fog that has been growing around both her and Emma floated in one single circle until it seemed to explode, coating the stones as it disappeared, the earth around the tombs shuddering lightly as it did.

Licking her lips, the necromancer eyed the blonde enchantress, Emma’s usually emerald eyes glowing dark under the moonlight that was now tinted purple and silver, its power casting shadows and words on the blonde’s cheeks as she nodded once, bared teeth and lust-induced haze clouding Emma’s voice until it seemed a mere growl. “Yes”

That word alone made Regina close her hands into tight fists, the last lines of the spell escaping her lips and crashing against the stones like glass, their sharp borders cutting portals between the other world and theirs, a world that was hers for her to play for the night.

“Rise” She ordered, her voice reaching every single corner of the graveyard, trees and leaves shuddering as the whole extension of her power washed over them. The first screech was heard as stone melted into bones and purple fire, Regina’s chest filling with pride.

Tonight was the night of the dead and she, she would be their guardian.


	2. Where Henry goes trick or treating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Established sq. Regina confesses sadly to Emma that she would like to have trick or treaters at her house but since the curse broke no one dares to come near her house. Henry overhears it so Halloween night Emma is there to cheer Regina up and Henry convinces some of his friends to go trick or treating to his moms house to lighten Regina's mood asked by stepintomyworld

To be honest Henry hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, not even a tiny bit. However, when he had heard his blonde mother’s laughter as she entered on their living room with a box full of sweets and costumes he hadn’t been able to stop himself, nervously wanting to hear how his other mother was going to react.

It had been almost four months after Emma had moved in and since then Halloween hadn’t exactly come up, nor the fact that Henry’s last one- and consequently Regina’s- had been the one before the year he had go to Boston. Their relationship had been still strong enough for him to want to ask his mother for a costume and the normal intake of sweets. He could still picture how his brunette mother had smiled and laughed alongside with him as he came up with bizarre ideas; excited to go outside playing as Dracula or any kind of monster he was able to imagine.

After that… everything had changed and Regina had carefully avoided any kind of festivity. Which has been sort of easy considering how things had gone since the first curse had been lifted. Still, Henry didn’t really remember the last time he had seen his mother just smile and enjoy such things and so he had walked closer to the door of the living room, nervously waiting for the voice of his brunette mother to float outside.

What he had heard, however, wasn’t the snippy or curt response he had been expecting but a wishful sigh and something that has sounded painfully too close to “I miss this.”

He had been able to see Emma, carefully leaving the box of sweets on the floor and quickly seating next to Regina as she picked up the book the former queen had been reading off the woman’s lap and putting it aside, looking at Regina and caress her forearm in that particular spot both of his mothers seemed to have decided to squeeze whenever the other seemed to want any kind of comfort. The woman had then licked and bit her bottom lip for a second before deciding to remain silent, her profile in shadows from Henry’s point of view as Regina seemed to sigh and lean on the blonde’s touch.

“Why don’t we decorate the house then? I’m sure that with a few spells we will have the most-looking haunted house of the entire town.” The easy-going answer made both Henry and Regina smile. The teen however, decided to remain silent as his brunette mother hummed, her fidgeting fingers seeming fixed on caressing Emma’s wrist as she did so.

“I don’t really know if we would get any visits.” She finally answered softly, so softly that Henry found himself needing to take a step further next to the door. His feet scrapped lightly the wooden floor making him curse inwardly. Luckily, neither of his mothers heard him and the next thing he had heard had been Emma’s voice as he repositioned himself next to the door, unable to see them anymore.

“Why don’t we try it?” The blonde’s voice seemed to be less cheerful than before but he noticed the strain as she seemed to keep trying to sound happy. A throaty sound floated towards him shortly afterwards and made him blush in the process, suddenly uncomfortable.

“I love you, you know that? However, as much as I love your ideas, dear” Regina had said succinctly. “I doubt anyone will ever try to come near the mansion, too many memories.”

“We can make new ones.” Emma had insisted but both she and Henry already knew that that was going to be the end of the discussion.

And so there he was, with a bunch of the lost boys at his sides and a few others he had been able to gather as Emma texted him that yes, Regina was still home and she had done her best to keep her occupied with full stock of sweets hidden from her.

That year the best of Halloween night wasn’t the fact that he got kissed by Violet as he tried to messily explain to her what Halloween entailed for him and the people of his realm -Although that was amazing and he definetely wanted to try another kiss some other time-

No, what was the best of that day was his mother’s smile when she opened the door of the mansion, confusion quickly diluting into the evening breeze and transforming into joy as the teens chanted the by now memorized line; Trick or treat? While they showed their own costumes and bags, hands raising as they waited for their sweets. That, Henry thought once he sneaked in the mansion in the late hours of the evening while pretending not to hear his mothers moans as he passed by their door, was definetely the best.


	3. Where they are just them but not quite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "That tattoo moved!" Asked by italymysteryswanqueen

**Set in: Some magic-induced world.**

11:45

Wood and the smell of fire reached Emma’s nostrils, making her tilt her head and sigh in appreciation, her eyes gleaming under the moonlight, green turning almost silver under its light. She was already running out of time. Taking another step to the silhouettes that signaled the first row of houses she felt her senses growing, curling around the tall trees that surrounded her, leaves falling around her, paving the ground as she walked by, magic tinting her fingers, curling her hair.

She really didn’t have any more time to give or waste and so she walked, stars twinkling by, a wolf howling in the distance; one last push of strength. Her boot-covered feet, however, faltered when she saw the lights that signaled the end of the woods, her fingers curling and turning into fists as her eyes seemed to harden, growing darker and glazed.

She was afraid, afraid of what would entail for her to leave the woods, for her to leave the moon. And yet she knew, she knew because she had had seen and had known and had learnt and there was so little time she felt her heart beating madly on her chest, her magic running down her veins, wanting to burst and seep through her pores. Close, she was close and her marking, her flower, the one she had on her wrist, pumped and called. It was time and she knew it.

The wolf howled one more time, a farewell scream that only reached her ears before it dissipated in the fog that was already starting to cover the woods floor, leaves and puddles of muddy water being swallowed in the same way the shadows grew and writhed. She didn’t have the time for having doubts, she knew that, no magic or curses no spells or hexes. She just needed to do it today, before the last second of Samhain went by, unnoticed for everyone else except her.

Because she had been trapped far too much for it to happen again, because she had fought and grow, because she needed this as much as she wanted it.

Her feet touched the road and with it the last shadow of doubt disappeared, the fog seeming to halt for a second before it grew iridescent white once again. The tattoo burnt as her blood pumped faster through her body, her lips red and swollen as she run, the scent of magic, of her magic, calling her, a trade so bright being lighted under her eyes that she needed to narrow them, her throat swollen and tight.

11:55

Time, she needed more time, more time before the trees found her again, before she was gone, gone like the wind. She needed the time and the escape and the things she had seen on those brown eyes that had stared back at her back when she had only been a child, when she had only been attached to the woods and nothing else, the things she had seen when she had been older and those brown eyes had appeared full of tears and babbling words that she hadn’t understood at that time but had been so full or harm she had wanted to cry alongside with them. She had seen something those other times, the times those eyes, brown and pure and hurt had come and go, years passing and nothing else changing but the burden that had been on them. She had seen them full of joy and full of rage, words being exchanged under her own tree and the silent promise of coming back taking longer and longer until Emma had thought she wouldn’t see them anymore.

Yes, she had hoped and waited and had started to fight it, fight herself, coming closer and closer to the edge of the woods, to the edge of them, to the edge of where the magic growled and bit her. She had waited for her and when she had returned she had been beautiful.

She had kissed her that night, she had kissed her until her body had being pumping magic, writing on the forest’s floor runes and spells and hexes that withered away as she kept moving, as they kept whispering to each other, the smell of wind and forest flooding their nostrils, making Emma believe on perhaps and what ifs.

And so there she was, running away, her tattoo calling and scorching her flesh, her feet quick as she run, run and called for her, for her and for that other one, the little one she had seen the last time she had seen her, when she had promised to be the one traveling to that other side, when she had promised her to never leave again. She had seen another set of eyes, intelligent and perhaps slightly like the ones she saw reflected on the stream of the river whenever she looked at herself and she knew, knew, she needed to go, needed to cross.

Her door was closed but she felt her energy around her with the shade of purple she had learnt to associate with her.  She waited, a second, then two, and knew she needed to do it, knew she needed to jump.

The boy was small, young for a mortal and with curious big eyes that widened almost as big as her when she saw her smiling shyly on her porch, her body blazing and the last seconds of the night hovering over her.

3

2

1

And then she smiled, she smiled and she jumped into her arms, kissing her and crying softly and hugging her so tight Emma felt like breaking and flying at the very same time.

She cried too when she heard his voice, high-pitched and yet so sweet; “Mom! Her tattoo moved!”

And it did, Emma felt it trembling one more time before it stilled, magic ebbing out of her only to engulf the two of them in a cloud and then the boy, -Henry, his name was Henry- and he looked at the sparks with wonder and just the right kind of excitement and Emma knew, she knew, she had done the right choice.

“Hi”


	4. Where they just do a Ghostbuster's marathon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SwanQueen Ghostbuster marathon asked by italymystery-swanqueen

“So…” Emma said as she plopped down next to Regina, the popcorn bowl on her hands rattling dangerously for a moment before she positioned it back on her lap “What have I miss?”

Regina shushed her before picking a single kernel and popping it on her mouth, eyes completely fixed on the tv’s screen. “They have discovered where the sleazy man lived.” She finally answered as she took more popcorn, Emma promptly grabbing a fistful of it and nodding alongside with the brunette’s explanation, her other arm caressing the nape of the brunette’s as she threw it over the coach’s back.

“Uh… about time, the guy was creeping me out.”

Regina nodded faintly at that, smirking slightly as she felt Emma repositioning herself. “Scared?” She teased as she scooted closer, legs propped up the sofa and feet tucked below her body.

“I’m not scared.” Emma huffed, chin raised towards the ceiling and shoulders stiff below Regina’s head.

“Really…?” Regina asked back, mirth showing on her voice as they both looked at how the group of four busted inside a creepy basement. “Because if I remember correctly…”

“I was expected more cheesy effects like in the first ones.” Emma rumbled, feeling the heat of a blush crawling up her neck. “The first ghost has freaked me out but I’m not scared…”

“Of course you aren’t” The former queen muttered while picking another kernel, eyes still focused on the tv, the light that came out from it illuminating her features as Emma looked down on her, her rebuke dying on her lips as she took on the brunette’s profile. Quickly hse bent as far as she was able to and dropped a gentle kiss on the woman’s temple.

It was Halloween night and outside teenagers, kids and adults asked for sweets and treats dressed as impossible creatures and beasts. That year, however, the two of them had silently agreed on keeping things simple, only giving candy to the occasional children that approached the mayoral house and dozing off in front of their tv, an endless repertoire of Halloween-themed films -donated all by Emma herself- waited for them. The atmosphere was full of calmness and Regina sighed contently on Emma’s arms, the one below her body slowly tracing circles on the blonde’s side. The room smelt of vanilla and cinnamon from the cakes she had cooked before and as she snugged closer she felt traces of flour staining the blonde’s shirt, the discovery making her smile.

In front of them the film now showed a series of ghosts rummaging on the city and she cocked her head, focusing on the film again knowing it was already nearing its ending and not wanting to miss a thing of it.

“I don’t know if I prefer a wraith over those.” Emma’s voice said above her, the salty taste of the popcorn touching Regina’s tongue when she parted her lips in order to answer the younger woman.

“I would pick those than a wraith. Better for my health.”

Emma snorted at that, the movement causing the bowl of popcorn to tremble before Regina steadied it, the gleam of the tv casting silver lines on Emma’s arm as she did too reach for it. In the screen the craziness continued and Regina closed her eyes for a second, feeling second hand-embarrassment as one of the main characters screamed like crazy, asking for people to listen to her.

“Too much for you?” Emma asked, nudging at her, she knew far too well that Regina felt overly self-conscious with that particular kind of humor and Regina growled at her before resting her head back on her previous place without actual answering it.

“I like this one better than the old ones.” She noted after a few more minutes, the parched sensation on her mouth making her smack her lips together as Emma happily munched the popcorn away.

“Uhm... I do too, although I kinda like the old ones.” Emma replied back, her shoulder moving against Regina as she shrugged. The brunette hummed and put the bowl aside so she could turn her body and look at Emma directly, quickly stealing a soft kiss from the woman’s lips before falling down on her previous spot. “What was that for?” Emma inquired, amusement lacing her words.

“Just because.”


	5. In where they are just married and everything can be perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heyy! Here's the Halloween oneshot ask! Can I have a cute, married SQ trick or treating fluffy scene? With Henry and another young child that they adopted after they got married? Big brother Henry feels

“Annnd, here you go!” Henry exclaimed while touching softly Samantha’s nose, the toddler giggling at the feeling of her big brother’s finger. The black paint Henry had used on it stained slightly his finger but she shrugged it off, smiling proudly as the girl did her best impersonation of the cat she was supposed to be- all eyes and soft sounds pretending to be a hiss- The small lines pretending to be the whiskers trembling as she laughed under the young man ministrations, eliciting a laugh from Henry himself as he stuck his tongue, amused with his little sister.

“Look Regina, I think we have two children in the house.” Emma said, entering in the living room and assessing the situation with bright, glowing eyes. Her costume was a simple witch-like robe that Henry knew she had created herself with the guidelines of his other mother. Mother that was already entering in the room with a cocked eyebrow and smirk in place.

“Perhaps he would like to come with us then. Pick all the candies.” Regina replied as if Henry wasn’t there, the look of mirth not lost on the boy who rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

“I know that will be ma’s work.” The boy replied at the jib, making Regina hum amused as Emma frowned, feigning irritation. Henry winked at the blonde and stared back at Samantha, the toddler playing with the hem of her costume already, apparently undisturbed with what was happening around her.

“Let’s see what your big brother has turned you into, shall we?” Regina asked, moving away from Emma and circling the sofa, her arms already stretched in order to pick up Sam, something Henry helped her as he stood up, looking at his mother’s costume as he did so.

The former queen’s costume was something slightly less obvious than the ones the rest of the family sported -taking into account Henry’s still unfinished hunchback- and for a second the boy tilted his head, trying to see what his mother was. The fake dots on one side of her neck, however, was what gave her away and he found herself smirking; vampire.

“She looks adorable Henry.” The brunette’s in question said, waking him up from his reverie. The brunette woman was looking at him, toddler in arms, an a warm and proud look on her eyes. The kind of one Henry had found himself embarrassed about back when he had been slightly younger but not anymore. Not as much at least.

“Yup, definetely.” Emma’s arm appeared from behind him and squeezed him in a one-arm hug, the blonde’s bright smile making Henry beam at her. “Next year I will be the one asking you to do my make-up… your mother here thinks I should wear a lot of mascara…”

Regina rolled her eyes at Emma’s words and turned towards Samantha, the toddler eyeing the three of them, seeming completely enthralled by their discussion. “Your mother doesn’t know what she wants, am I right sweetie?” Regina fake-whispered to the girl, Sam’s slow nod making Henry hum amused as Emma growled.

“Stop putting our daughter against me.”

“Then stop behaving like a child.”

The sentences, ones that could have caused screams and discussions years ago were now said good-naturedly and Henry relaxed a second after he realized how his back had suddenly tensed. Emma, who was still next to him, squeezed his shoulder before letting him free, a look of understanding passing between the two of them.

“C’mon you two… this year we have a lot of candy to pick.” Regina said while ironing Samantha’s costume, the little black ensemble hugging and covering her as much as possible in order to keep her warm during the chilly night. “And Henry, be here at least before your mother wakes up, okay?”

The young adult nodded once before he picked up the fake hunch, carefully wrapping himself in the clothes the costume had in order to keep the prop in place. “Don’t worry mom, I will call you if anything happens, promise.”

Even if it has already been a few years since the last baddie had showed up Regina liked to still known where everyone was and Henry, considering the things he had seen back when he had been a mere teen, couldn’t exactly blame him. The former queen kissed his cheek by putting herself on the tips of her toes and nodded, Emma punching Henry’s shoulder before moving away.

“Later kid, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Stop corrupting our boy.”

“I wasn’t!”

Henry chuckled as his mothers closed the door of the mansion behind them. Some things never changed he guessed.

Some others, he considered, did. And he couldn’t be more grateful for it.


	6. In where one of them is a vampire (Not the usual I'm afraid)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “At Halloween nights Vampires like me can enter without being invited” Asked by anon

Footsteps echoed on the empty road that lead to the main door of the mansion, the light that illuminated the path warm and inviting as the breeze that played with the leaves of the forest glowed silver with power of the first hours of the night. The power that transformed into a call for the woman inside the house, a quiet warning that spilled out of her in the form of crackling purple scars that wrote their journey down the woman’s forearms as she stood from the sofa she had been seated at, book forgotten as she went towards the main door, brown eyes glowing in violet hues and danger.

The lean, tall woman that waited for her, however, surprised her, alongside with the dark leather ensemble she sported. Her blonde hair looked almost white under the silver moonlight that silhouetted her body against Regina’s doorjamb and she curled her arms around her waist, waiting.

“Emma?”

The blonde, however, didn’t move, not until Regina glanced at the moon once again, her sorceress powers being awakened in the same way Emma’s own had been. Blazing and cold at the same time, leaving behind a bundle of heat that run inside of them.

Emma raised her hand, her fingers falling into the night that lighted the hall, basking on it as she smirked. Regina’s lips parted in a silent gasp as she followed the blonde’s fingers with her brown eyes, the cold touch of one fingertip startling her Emma’s smile grew, her hand retreating as quickly as it had come inside.

“Tonight I can enter, Regina.” She whispered darkly, her voice low and sweet, her words almost rolling down her tongue like drops of caramel. Her eyes seemed to glow when the former queen eyed them and the brunette found herself licking her lips, not losing the movements of those other pupils as she did so. “What would you do?”

The implicit message was obvious and yet Regina didn’t move an inch as Emma stood in front of her, profile slightly illuminating the paleness on her cheeks, the deep red on her lips and the blazing green pupils that were still eyeing her mouth, unmoving. The curve of her previous smirk present on the way the glimmer of her teeth ebbed its way between them, just enough to make Regina remember what Emma has transformed into, what Emma actually was. Regina swallowed slowly, seeing the way Emma’s eyes fell to her throat, a knot tightening around her trachea as she watched the blonde’s eyes darken, the pump of blood and magic through her body making her dizzy.

“Emma…” She murmured, her voice sounding harsh on her ears as she locked her gaze with the blonde’s, the woman right hand raising again, the tips of her fingers coming close enough for the brunette for her to feel the ghost of a caress just on her jaw, a few centimeters too high from where she could feel Emma’s gaze truly focused on. Her magic crackled once as she let herself rest on the other woman’s hand, eyes fluttering closed as she heard the satisfied groan that came from Emma’s chest, one last rumble coursing through her, making her raise her eyelids as she felt the pull from inside her chest growing even stronger, her tongue licking her lips as she felt heat swirling inside of her, transforming every doubt into dust.

“Tonight is the night I could enter.” Emma repeated carefully, eyes smoldering, the tips of her fangs almost visible now, almost cutting her own lips, one drop of blood already staining her flesh. “But tell me, do you want me to?”

Her voice was intimate, soft and tender and yet so raw Regina took a deep breath, Emma’s index finger lowering itself until she was resting against her pulse point.

A heartbeat, then two.

_“What do you want?”_

And there were far too many things, Regina realized, the tip of the tongue pressed against her palate, her hands turned into fists, her heartbeat strong as ever as she thrusted her chest upwards, the true shadow of the Queen she had once been. There were too many things but that night she only wanted one.

Emma’s hand was almost warm now to the touch as she grabbed it, dragging her lips over the woman’s index finger, biting it slowly as she kept her eyes fixed on Emma’s, the breeze from outside not bothering her anymore, the light that silhouetted Emma against her front door seeming to lose its strength.

“I want you.”

Emma smiled brightly, fangs completely outstretched, pointy and gleaming as she took that final step, her other hand grabbing Regina’s by her waist as she pulled her closer, her body flush against the brunette’s. Her scent surrounded Regina as she chuckled, ringing on the brunette’s ears.

“And I you”

Her lips felt warm on her cheek and warmer even as they traveled south, the faintest feel of razor-like teeth running down the column of her throat, her magic cracking against her skin, against Emma’s own power.

“Give me tonight, just tonight.” The vampire pleaded.

And Regina, grabbing the blonde’s nape, only gasped one final time before nodding, her eyes dark, almost black, as she pushed the woman’s head away from her, a purr under her tongue as she spoke again. “All the nights you want.”


	7. In where Regina is with another and Emma doesn’t know what to do with herself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SQ. We team up for the halloween couples contest every year as friends but this year you’re with someone else and i’m definitely Not Jealous and definitely Not Realising Feelings. [Pre-relationship]

Emma smiled somberly at her mother as she entered in the magically-decorated city hall. The woman was already talking animatedly with Ruby, eager to know something about her friend’s travels and merely shot her a glance before immersing herself on the lanky brunette’s words once again. Something that Emma felt thankful for as she looked around her. The fairies, she admitted to herself as she picked the first of many alcohol-filled glasses she planned on consuming that night, had done a very good job that year. The simple- bland- room was lighted in blacks and purples leaving the floor covered in a grey mist that swirled between the feet of the ones that had already arrived; each one of them showing costumes that went from spooky to beyond ridiculous. Sighing and giving a firm tug to the edge of her plain, red leather, jacket, Emma downed her drink in one more gulp and bite down her lip, squaring her shoulders and wondering for the hundredth time why she had even had to go there.

It had become a normal celebration to host a Halloween-themed party a day after the actual day in a way to relink the costumes the citizens of Storybrooke had either brought with them from the enchanted forest or had acquired during their time in Storybrooke. The costume party was one of the many things that were going to happen that night and usually Emma knew she would be the first one eager to start what probably was her favorite part of the night; the Halloween costume couple’s contest. It was goofy, normal, and in a place in where normal was almost impossible she liked to think that dressing up as a zombie was one of the few things she could actually do well.

Shaking her head and taking another glass she looked between the newcomers that had started to arrive after her, her green eyes shining slightly when she spotted Henry as the Count Dracula laughing at something Violet had said. The teens had already hit their second year anniversary and as slightly worried she may have been at first she was happy for the boy. And so was Regina even if she still liked to growl under her breath whenever the girl visited Henry back at the mansion.

Regina.

Tightening her grip against the glass she held, Emma’s teeth nibbled once again her lower lip. If it hadn’t been for Leroy and his sudden sickness she wouldn’t have needed to show up at the party. But, alas, the new deputy was now trying to battle against a fever and Emma had been left out with the obligation to go to the party and be sure that nothing major happened. Or no real villain appeared of course. Something she had tried to avoid ever since she had gone to Regina’s house with an idea already forming on her mind and the utter knowledge that they were going to wreck it that year’s contest only to see whatever-his-name-was exiting the brunette’s house with a dopey smile on his face.

She had known here and there that that year she wasn’t going to go with Regina. Which, okay, the contest was a couple-themed one but… that didn’t mean that friends couldn’t attend it, they had already done it the previous years and nothing bad had happened, right? So even if they had known that at some point -never Emma had vouched after her break up with Hook- they could or could not have a significant other the idea was for them to enjoy a little the night and just… be together. As friends of course.

Smiling distractedly at Ashley as the woman passed right next to her while talking with Archie, Emma grabbed her third drink and tried to blend with the room’s walls, all of them decorated in the same black color that seemed to hover above the head of the attendants. She didn’t want to be near the bar when the contest started and she most definetely didn’t want to see Regina right now, or whichever-prince-he-thought-he-was. The name had slipped out of his mind the second she had seen how he looked at Regina, tentatively and shy and still lustily and Emma had wanted to gag in the spot. Which wasn’t strange, she argued back, Regina had been her friend for a lot of time now, it was normal for her to worry about her well-being, to want the best for her. That dick clearly wasn’t.

Closing her eyes briefly, the effects of the alcohol starting to get her, Emma sighed heavily as she swirled the liquid on her drink, knowing that during her shift she couldn’t drink and still not caring about it.

Of course Regina had tried to soften the blow by commenting how they could still go dressed as if they were going to compete but it was the actual thrill of the contest the best part and going as Morticia and Gomez without actually competing or being together would be just plain strange. So Emma had shrugged it off, swallowing up her feelings in the process and refused to be alone with Regina for the following week while pretending she wasn’t bothered by the fact that she was going to be alone on Halloween night.

(At the end Henry had showed up at the apartment she had gotten for herself a year and a half ago -with Regina’s aid- and they had watched old films together. He hadn’t asked why Emma was in such a dark mood and the blonde had been thankful for that)

Because, in truth, even if not being in the contest bothered her what it really pissed her off was how Regina… had decided to go with that douchebag. The douchebag they had saved a year ago when Facilier had appeared with his hordes of ghosts and had become a powerful ally against him but still. Regina was way, way better than him and the sight of Regina fiddling as she, Emma, had stared at her, probably looking stupid and confused, had hurt her. Had hurt her because the brunette had seemed almost ashamed for a second and Emma had felt that she hadn’t been privy to some kind of big secret until then.  A big secret that entailed the fact that her best friend was dating once again after his long mourn over Robin Hood.

(One that Emma hadn’t liked either but that was another story)

Yes, Emma nodded to herself as she took a sip from her drink, her ears perking up when Blue’s voice announced that the contestants needed to get ready to show up the best details of her costumes, what had hurt her had been the realization Regina was dating, dating someone who wasn’t…

What, her? Shaking her head more forcefully the blonde turned her full attention to the first couple from her slightly dark corner, drink in hand and sour expression to match.

The costumes were very well done, she found herself thinking as Ashley and Frederick twirled together, and cheery. Popeye and Olivia were a classic after all. And as they smiled to the audience and turned Emma fought against her brain, mentally kicking the idea of Regina and herself being anything more than friends while trying to submerge herself in a contest she really didn’t want to look at in case…

In case Regina appeared. And there she was, dressed as a mid-Victorian duchess with the moron next to her and already muttering things on her ear. Something, Emma thought smugly and irritated, Regina truly hated as she found it uncomfortable. A part of her wanted to go there and told the jackass what she thought of him but another part, the sober one, knew that that could only upset Regina. And she didn’t want that, did she?

“If you are trying to be subtle you aren’t doing it right.” The words, said warmly and softly next to her, made Emma jump before she turned towards Ruby, the woman smiling slightly before she pointed at the couple with a vague enough gesture of her right hand. “Albeit she looks good on that dress, I must admit.”

“I guess.” Emma replied surly before trying to take another sip from her drink and discovering in the process that she had already drank it all. Ruby chuckled and offered hers before moving next to her, her shoulders touching Emma’s side as she leaned on the wall just as the blonde.

“Don’t lie to me, you were looking at her like I do whenever I’m in wolf-time and I’m presented with a steak.”

“I wasn’t ogling her!” Emma replied so loud a few members of the crowd turned to look at her. Between them her mother whose bland costume as Boo was something Emma decided not to think about. “I really wasn’t.” Emma repeated more discreetly while focusing on her new drink. It was the fourth? Fifth? She really didn’t know. “I’m not like that.”

Ruby chuckled for a second time before raising her shoulders. “Okay, no ogling. But you still need to be subtler… unless you are done with that of course.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Emma replied through suddenly gritted teeth. The leather of her jacket felt suddenly too hot for her to be in and she crossed her arms forcefully, a few drops spilling out of her glass as she did so.

“I think you do.” Ruby replied smartly, her eyes never leaving Emma’s when the blonde looked at her, ready to rebuke whatever the werewolf threw at her. “I mean, you are hidden here and looking at that guy as if you could murder him on the spot.”

“Wasn’t I was looking at Regina?” Emma replied only to sigh as she realized that she had indeed confirmed Ruby’s early words.

“See?” Ruby replied with a smirk curving her lips. “Whatever it is, Ems, you need to start thinking what to do because, believe me, it’s noticeable.”

“It is not! There is nothing to see.”

“So you looking like a wounded puppy because Regina is not there with you is something I’m not seeing right now?”

Emma licked her lips nervously and groaned. She should have told Leroy to suck it and be the one here, not her.

“I just…” She started, not knowing how to finish the sentence. “I don’t like him.” She finally settled with, shrugging when Ruby hummed, amused expression still on her face. “I think she can do better, that’s all.”

“Something better like you?” Ruby prodded and Emma threw her a nasty glare before drinking, the cocktail far too sweet for her tastes but still something she would swallow down. Ruby sighed. “I get it, okay?” She said as she pointed at Dorothy, the woman glancing at the two of them from where she was standing as another couple showed their pirate costumes. Not bad. “I was afraid too. But Ems, if you really want to be there you need to tell her instead of pretending not to care and avoid been with her for over a week.”

“Snow has told you.” Emma deadpanned.

“Pretty much.”

“There are times I think my mother is even worse at keeping secrets than Regina believed.”

“I won’t deny that.” Ruby said as she stole the glass from Emma’s hand when the woman was going to drink and drinking her instead. “But go and talk to her Ems.”

“I don’t have anything to say to her.”

“Do you think that looking at you like she does is platonic?” Emma opened her mouth, ready to protest, but was promptly shushed by Ruby. “Give me some credit, you are smarter than that. Talk to her and show her that you actually think of her like that instead of just liking to pretend you are something more just one night every year.”

With that the werewolf left, returning to Dorothy’s side who smiled widely before kissing her nose under Emma’s forlorn gaze.

Perhaps, she thought while sighing and mourning already Ruby’s drink, perhaps…

In that very same second Regina turned, as if called, as if she had finally realized that someone was there looking at her and even though the moron was talking to her she just seemed to sense Emma’s, meeting the sheriff’s eyes with a small smile and a mouthed “You okay?” that Emma drowned into.

She nodded. Perhaps, she wondered, perhaps…


	8. Where the Sanderson sisters come out to play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never watch Hocus Pocus with Cora’s grimoire open. Bonus info: Cora's alive and good.

“How’s the candle going?” Emma asked, crouched behind the sofa, wind howling around her and almost stealing away her voice as she turned back to the three witches, careful not to break the contentment spell. The power they had gathered with their arrival growled under her gaze and she flinched ever so slightly when a single spark lurched on her way.

“I’m trying!” Regina replied in a similar manner, hands hovering over the thick candle she had been able to conjure a few moments ago: Drops of purple energy circled her fingers and Emma’s hair felt strange, the prickling feeling of magic strong around and inside her. The brunette’s eyes glowed steadily due to the power she was canalizing but the candle remained stubbornly unlighted.

“I don’t know why you two are making such a fuss.” Said Cora. The woman, despite the wind and cackling, was still comfortably seated at her place, back as straight as ever and a just the slightest bit of smirk curving her thin lips. “I find this alternative quite refreshing.”

Both Emma and Regina glanced at the older woman nastily before Emma turned towards Henry; the boy’s head still bowed in front of the book, trying to find any clue in order to turn the witches back to it. The teen looked on her direction and shrugged before returning back the old pages.

Emma sighed deeply before muttering curses under her breath. Not even a night, she thought while eyeing anxiously the circle in where the three ominous witches had been trapped, not even a single night of relaxation.

Albeit it had started rather well, she thought while she tried to remember any spell Regina may have taught her in order to trap the wind that had been loose ever since the Sanderson sisters had come out of the tv-screen, all dark wishes and maddening giggles. The night at first had been awkward due to Cora’s presence -the woman still going to Archie’s every week and with an ambivalent relationship with her daughter Regina had been steadily becoming more comfortable with. Considering how Cora kept trying to become better Regina and her had agreed on watching a film with both her and Henry. The teen, albeit begrudgingly, had asked for one of the Halloween-related films, Hocus Pocus being, for him, the most obvious choice.

And it had started well, pretty great actually. Except for Cora that is; the woman was still unable to understand the concept of tv, let alone be quiet and watch it. She had become bored after a while saying how magic wasn’t correctly depicted nor well developed -something Emma had seen Regina nod at- and that she was going to actually try to read something interesting.

The moment her codex had appeared in front of her Emma had sensed the atmosphere of the room changing as the three witches chanted their famous song back on the screen, their voices seeming to becoming really high as Cora, as proper as ever, read silently with a vague scowl on her face and words of power seeming to light her face from the blonde’s angle. Regina hadn’t been looking in that moment, nor Henry, and Emma had doubted for a second if she actually needed to comment on the strange sensation that only seemed to grow as word after word was chanted back on the screen.

Turned out she should have; the Sanderson sisters had crossed the tv’s screen that now laid useless in a corner and even if a little bit disoriented they had been intelligent enough to acknowledge the power that seemed to run in a house that hosted three magic practitioners -one in theory retired- and an author. Regina had had barely a few seconds to spare before her senses had kicked in, throwing a protection charm over them as Emma threw blast after blast at the witches; she had seen enough and remembered enough of the film to sense that it didn’t matter the true story of the sisters; things were going to turn bad.

Cora hadn’t moved an inch of course, incredibly amused by everything as Henry scurried towards his book, pages upon pages appearing under his gaze as he tried to look on the Sanderson’s ending.

Emma was awoken by her reverie by Regina, the brunette woman yelping as a timid yet strong flame appeared between her hands, the dark light it emitted making the three witches scream behind their circle, the wind seeming to blow even stronger as Emma jumped in front of Regina, nervous that one of them were able to free themselves in that exact moment.

“You need to light it mom!” Henry’s voice boomed as he came towards them, books on his hands and that farewell look he had whenever he submerged himself on his book. “Before the clock touches midnight.”

“In the film…” Emma replied, eyeing Henry before Regina sighed. Cora, of course, said nothing.

“The film’s information regarding magic is poor.” Regina replied succinctly. “It’s not important who lights the candle since it’s the one enchanted. It’s the fact that the witch that does it needs to be able to create a dark flame, not a normal one.” Her hands were now touching the candle and with one single crack the wick turned into flames.

One final scream and some dark curses and the circle in the middle of the room glowed brightly as it seemed to start opening by its center, dragging with it the three witches who shot one final blast against the barrier before disappearing completely. The wind stopped as well and Emma growled at it, annoyed.

“No more films on Samhain” Regina said firmly before touching briefly her son’s shoulder and grabbing Emma’s wrist. “Not with that Grimoire on my house at least. I thought we have already talked about this, mother.”

“But I was bored” The former Wonderland’s ruler replied with a pout. Something so far unlady-like that Emma swallowed a snort.

At least they hadn’t been looking Indiana Jones like the night before, she thought while shuddering; those bugs hadn’t look friendly…


	9. In where Regina is the vampire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> after 300yrs Vampire Queen Regina finally finds a mate in human Emma and turns her

The Queen’s nails clicked against the armrests of her throne, long fingers dancing slowly under the lights of several and slowly dimming torches that hung low from the stone ceiling. The palette of reds and golds they created made the jewels the monarch had on her crown tinkle and glint as she waited, her brown eyes settled on the woman standing in front of her; shackles tying her hands between them as well as making impossible for her to run away. Her green eyes, however, proud yet worried, was what made the Queen to pause, studying the woman, the way her clothes -dirty and ragged- covered her body and yet showed the defined lines of muscles and strength that no normal girl tended to have.

Raising her right hand, the brunette caressed the hollow of her own throat, pensive. The woman in front of her didn’t move albeit Regina’s piercing eyes saw the tiny flicker in the woman’s pupils, the way they went from her throat to her mouth before dropping again, as cold as before. The mere movement elicited a chuckle from the Vampire Queen who bared her teeth, her fangs just protruding enough to be noticeable but not enough to touch her bottom lip.

“Is this what you were so interested about?” She asked, her voice strong yet sweet, calming but demanding enough to let the girl know that her power was not even half-visible at the moment. She heard the blonde’s heart bumping loudly against the woman’s ribcage but when the stranger nodded she felt nothing coming off of her. Except a wave of thrilling interest that made her smirk, her ruby red lips glittering just slightly under the lights as she sheathed her fangs once again, the bodice of her red and black dress straining just enough as she took a deep breath, enjoying the scent the human emanated. A little bit too earthy perhaps, but overall fine. “I don’t normally have them visible, too many inconveniences.”

“I have heard stories that say differently.” The blonde replied, her shackles shuddering as she seemed to be about to take a step forward. The brunette cocked a brow at that, the moonlight that came into the room from behind her thanks to her private balcony casted shadows on the floor, the blonde’s shaking due to the flickering flames of the torches.

“What kind of stories have you heard?” She asked, voice deeper, darker, as she stood, the silk on her dress fell from where it had been pooling, enveloping her ankles as she walked. Coming closer to the blonde but still looming over her she kept her senses focused on the woman’s scent. The blonde raised her chain just slightly, eyes fierce yet intrigued and Regina found herself enticed by the open way the woman showed her neck, her pulse point visible, calling. Through slightly hooded eyes Regina soothed her hunger and let part of her power obscure the lights of the room, just a tad.

The blonde woman looked around her, sensing the change but not acknowledging it. A part of Regina wondered if she had felt the magical pulse her powers had left behind, a trail so weak due to the simplicity of her wish that disappeared almost the second the doubt had formed in her mind.

“Stories.” She finally replied, shrugging and looking back at the Queen, her eyes now seeming focused back on the woman’s neck, were two punctures were still visible even after the many  years that had already passed. Regina resisted the need to cover her neck, long ago having decided not to hide her marks. Her mentor had truly been slightly dramatic if she should say herself though and she hummed as the blonde spoke again. “They are almost never real.”

“You think?” Regina asked, intrigued. It was a strange for a human not to be scared of her. Not impossible -she had a few of those as her own nobility and they had turned out to be quite exceptional on what they did- but still rare.

The blonde made a non-committal sound and looked at Regina’s eyes once again, her teeth peeking between her lips as she spoke, just the tiniest bits of tugs leaving a white indentation on the woman’s pink lips that soon enough disappeared and made the monarch find herself entranced for. “I believe in facts, not in tales told by old women, my queen.”

The acknowledgment was respectful yet teasing and Regina, far from feeling annoyed, found herself even more interested on the young woman. Smiling lopsidedly, she took another step towards the blonde, noticing how, without her tall boots she would probably be slightly shorter than the blonde. The vanity her mentor had drilled on her flared but she squashed it ever as quickly.

“Careful there, I’m quite an old woman myself.” She replied, banter on her voice and a chuckle that was soon echoed from the blonde’s own as she rose her hands in front of her, the metal shackles jangling as she did so.

“I won’t answer that with these on.” The question dripped with amusement but it was still made with a double meaning the queen did indeed catch. A call for trust.

Rolling her eyes, she waved her right hand, pretending to look bored as the sound of the shackles echoed through the entire room, thankful to having decided to answer the call of her men in the eerie hours of night, when many of her human staff were already asleep. The blonde moved her wrists in tiny circles as she nodded, her green eyes showing not only interest or curiosity but surprise, she had certainly didn’t expect to be freed so easily.

“I believe you are far more intelligent that the stories you claim not to believe about people that tried to betray me.” Regina replied, darkness swirling on her voice, dripping down her lips almost as the blood she saw pumping through the blonde’s neck. She felt her fangs starting to elongate inside her mouth and swallowed, the taste of venom against her buds making her narrow her eyes. Her hands were now at her sides, one grabbing the fabric of her dress, making it go up just a little, enough to show a silver of skin down her ankle.

“I think I am.” The blonde replied, the ghost of a smile on her lips.

“You know why are you here?” The queen asked haughtily, interested on seeing how far she could push the blonde. The woman’s heartbeat remained steady yet her scent became stronger, slightly more alluring, filled with nervousness.

“Does it matter?” The blonde asked back and Regina almost wanted to smile at that, her other hand curling just a little as she imagined taking control of the girl, forgetting anything but the feeling of her. She seemed delicious. And intriguing.

“You were caught stealing.” Regina finalized. “I wouldn’t have regarded you directly at any other moment but you caught me… bored. And so I decided to intervene. Which can be in your favor.”

“How so?” The blonde replied, chin raised. Regina saw how the woman’s hands were curled into fists, a wave of power seeming to come from them; unsteady and untrained but powerful enough.

Interesting.

“Because I’m intrigued enough to let you go free with only one condition for you to follow.”

The green-eyed woman’s eyes flashed, lips pink as she liked them eyelashes casting shadows on the highest part of her cheekbones. Beautiful, Regina acknowledged, and definetely more than what met the eye.

“Which would be…?”

“For you to feel free to return.”

* * *

 

Such thing has been said four years ago. Now, in a very similar night with the moon hanging low on the sky and its silver light casting playful shadows over both Regina and Emma’s faces the brunette grasp one yellow tress from the woman that stood as closer as her as possible without touching her and curled her fingers around it, dark eyes never leaving green’s.

“Are you sure?” She asked one third and final time, the last details of the ritual being already taken care of. Emma grabbed the woman by the lapels of the jacket she wore, her fingers leaving lines on the velvet, writing that seemed to be traced with the dirty white she had come to link to her own power. Voice rough and deep she muttered one final “Yes” before kissing Regina fully, her tongue probing the Queen’s fangs who reacted to the stimuli before Regina was able to pull away.

“Emma…” She admisnihed only to be answered by a quiet and warm chuckle, the silver and red details of the woman’s clothes, showing the nobility she had finally been found to come from, standing against her fingers as she traced lines on the younger woman’s forearms, sighing as she felt the muscles behind the fabric.

“I’m sure Regina, just do it.”

The Queen nodded and rose the blonde’s chin with one hand, the angle leaving the pulse point of the woman exposed, naked to Regina’s teeth who sharpened inside her mouth, jutting just slightly from her lips as they reached their full length, tiny droplets of blood from Regina’s plump lower lip already staining them. The final touch.

“Be still.” She whispered, her voice eliciting goosebumps down on Emma’s back, her eyes steady and confident as she remained quiet, silent.

The first bite was the slowest, the skin giving away almost as soon as Regina pushed her fangs into the flesh. Blood barely oozed outside the wound, the vampire’s venom already running down Emma’s body, its power making the blonde groan in want. “Regina…”

The Queen hummed against the human’s neck, not moving, not even drinking from her but just letting her venom flow, the scent and sense of Emma’s blood eliciting a small groan on return as Emma’s right hand rose and grasped her hair, pulling it as she arched on the Queen’s touch.

The second bite was less painful but quicker, just on the blonde earlobe. One final reminder, one final tease.

“Rise.” Regina whispered in front of the hazed lustful gaze of the blonde, her nose touching Emma’s, her hands grasping the blonde’s shoulders, keeping her steady, keeping her closer to her. She had been alone for 320 years. It was time to change things.

And for having a second queen alongside with her.

“Rise my love.” She whispered, lips wet with blood. “Rise”


	10. In where Regina is a ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma has just moved into the old mills mansion only its not empty. Ghost lady mills won't give her a minute of peace.

 

“Can you just stop for a minute!?” Emma exclaimed as yet another chair trembled and rose, hovering over the living room’s table where she had been resting her feet. The chair fell to the floor and something close to a howling was heard on the room, the sound of opening and closing windows echoing alongside with it even though the windows were still tightly closed. “Okay. Got it!” She said as she lowered her feet, the second they touched the floor all stopping making the room grow quite once again, the chair even rearranging itself so it was perfectly lined with the table.

“We have already talked about this, Miss Swan.” A voice said at her right, stern eyes looking at her when she turned. “You may live here now but this is still my home and you will take care of it by no treating it like the savage you are.”

“Says the ghost that has been throwing around furniture the second I entered this house.” Emma replied smartly only to be answered by an even colder look from the woman that had appeared the first night she had spent at the mansion at her bed’s feet while saying in very strictly terms how she didn’t plan on leaving her house just because it had been sold to some “pesky commoner”. Emma hadn’t been scared -although she had called Ruby just to be sure she wasn’t being pranked by her best friend- and that has been what has made the woman impressed enough to present herself as the former owner of the mansion and stop with the dancing lights and dark curses she had awoken Emma with.

Regina Mills, Emma had discovered, was a very interesting woman enamored with cleanness and adamant on keeping everything in order. Which clashed with Emma’s own ideas of what “order” meant. Now, for example, the always proper brunette was eyeing her haughtily with crossed arms in front of the tasteful power-suit she had first appeared with and that had become a constant on her wardrobe after a few weeks of trying to appear in different fashions in order to scare Emma off.

The blonde was secretly glad that the suit had stayed though; Regina looked far better on it if someone asked her. Which no one would considering how Regina always managed to disappear whenever someone visited Emma. Something that wasn’t as usual as the first weeks when the citizens of Storybrooke were still amazed that someone had finally found the guts to live on the former Mills mansion but still common enough for Emma to look wearily at the corners of the room whenever a guest plopped too forcefully on the sofa or put their glasses on the table without considering “this wood is finer than anything else you have ever known Miss Swan, you should already know how to take care of it.”

The nasty part of Emma had thought on selling everything inside the mansion and replace the furniture so Regina couldn’t pester her anymore but there was something about the house she couldn’t quite place and prevented her for it. Perhaps she was the ghost woman herself, she wasn’t sure.

Now, however, the aforementioned woman was looking at her with cloudy eyes and that arched brow that always made Emma know she was in trouble.

“I’m sorry.” She finally said, sighing. As much as the ghost could annoy her sometimes she wondered how complicated it must be for her to see how the world kept changing around her without her being able to interact with it anymore.

“You are late.” The brunette cut her before she could keep apologizing, her stern look wavering slightly as Emma eyed her, not sure what to answer to that.

She had at first tried to describe Regina to Ruby only to find that even though she could see the woman’s face perfectly well whenever they were looking at each other some kind of magic kept her from actually saying the entire details of the woman’s face, her hair -short and always perfectly brushed- or her lithe body the second she tried to explain her to another person. The slight light her body emitted was the only thing that gave her away after all, as well as her annoying obsession to disappear whenever she wanted as she discussed with Emma.

Now, however, she could see perfectly well the obvious worry on the brunette’s pupils and for that she frowned. It was true that her job had kept her outside the house for longer than she had thought it would; the man she had needed to catch had beenbright enough to make her sweat a little, but night was still young and she normally stayed awake even longer whenever she didn’t need to work at night.

“I needed to finish a few things before coming here.” She finally answered while shrugging it off, her elbows on her knees as she eyed the other woman. If Regina found annoying Emma’s crouched posture she didn’t say a thing, her eyes still wary and slightly darkened. “But nothing major, I promise.”

“I wasn’t worried.” Regina finally replied while huffing and looking at the table in front of her.

“Sure you weren’t.” Emma taunted back, smirk starting to grow. If there was something she enjoyed infinitely was getting a raise out of the elegant and poised ghost.

“I assure you I wasn’t. There is nothing you can do that will make me worry Miss Swan. I’m more worried that you will end up destroying some valuable thing due to your carelessness.”

Emma snorted at that and rose, feeling the muscles at her back protest slightly. “We will see about that…”

Regina narrowed her eyes. “We will indeed.”

**5 years later…**

A man stumbled down the porch of the mansion, his legs trembling as he looked behind his shoulder with wide, frightened eyes. The door of the mansion opened and closed before him and she shuddered, his red-splotched face becoming paler as a long thunder seeming to come from the house itself lighted his face and made the floor he was standing in tremble.

“All right! All right! Not interested, got it!” He screamed to no one in particular, hands raised in front of him as if trying to protect himself. His slurred scream was met with the flickering lights of the porch and one final slam of the door from where a hovering figure looked at him, eyes gleaming as he swallowed, his tongue peeking between his lips, wetting them as he tried to remain as stoic as possible. As one final thunder seemed to wash over him he turned and run, not bothering to even look back.

At the door, Emma sighed and closed the door -once again completely insentient- with a push of her hands, her green eyes looking warily to one particular corner of the hall in which an iridescent light seemed to come from the shadows.

“Was that necessary?” She chastised as she crossed her arms, one brow raising as the shadow compacted and formed the haughty profile of a very tasteful clothed brunette.

“For all the things he was telling you I should have threw him my mother’s piano from the attic. However, it required a lot of work and you have been very adamant of not standing too much so I opted for something less… flashy.”

“Because scaring a guy out of his body with jumping furniture and flickering lights is no flashy in the slightest.” Emma replied with something close to a fond smile already curving her lips.

“It could have been worse for him, trust me.” Regina replied, translucent lips forming a smirk Emma found herself chuckling at. Regina examined her nails for a second, pretending disinterest, before focusing once again on Emma through thick eyelashes obscuring her eyes from the blonde’s gaze.

Emma rolled her eyes and approached the woman, her arms hanging limply at her sides once again as her smile only grew in fondness. “You are impossible.”

The ghost shrugged and rose. Emma had long ago stopped trying to understand the psychics for which Regina moved and interacted with the objects so when the woman seemed to lean on the wall at her back she simply let that be. “I’m more than that Miss Swan.” She replied, the blonde’s surname making Emma roll her eyes once again. “You should know that by now.”

The blonde rose her right hand and left it between the two of them, Regina’s own raising to meet it in mid-air, the iridescent light she emanated faintly illuminating Emma’s pale flesh.

“I don’t know why my mother insists on sending guys here.” She said with a sigh. “Perhaps I should explain everything to her.”

“I doubt that explaining me will make you any favors dear.”

Emma stared at their hands, at the way they almost touched even if Regina’s seemed to repeal the blonde’s fingers where they were close enough to her to almost feel the warmth that would have been expected to find there in case she would have been alive.

“Who knows.” She finally said, looking directly at Regina and shrugging, her green eyes glinting under the hall’s lights. “If there’s someone that can beat you at stubbornness that’s me.”

Regina laughed at that, her eyes so warm that made Emma feel like burning when they glanced at her and lick her lips, her eyes not failing to make her see how Regina’s mirrored her movement. “Indeed you are dear, indeed you are.”


	11. Where Emma works at a haunted house

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Emma works at a haunted house and as Regina turned the corner she scared her and the brunette is so very sorry for breaking the blonde's nose"

The brunette certainly had a strong right hook Emma thought while clutching her nose, the rags she had been wearing around her hands now bloodied as she tried to swallow, the pain making her closer her eyes as tightly as possible as she wheezed in the middle of what worked as the main corridor of the house. She wanted to cry and the taste and smell of blood made her feel vaguely sick as she threw a hand at her back, searching blindly the nearest wall trying, but failing, to remain standing.

Strong hands steadied her as words came through the haze of pain she was in; two pitches mixing as she fluttered her eyes open, trying to see something on the dim lights of the place. In front of her brown eyes followed her movements worriedly and Emma couldn’t help but smile lopsidedly, pain still strong and piercing through her brain. She probed her front teeth slowly, feeling numb on the upper part of her lip. Nothing broken.

“I’m really sorry.”

The words came to her once again, this time the pain receding enough for her to understand them. Swallowing thickly while trying to fight the lightheadedness she had started to feel the blonde focused on the two faces that looked worriedly at her, one of them the one she had been drawn to the very second she had seen the couple of mother and child enter the house.

“It’s nothing.” She slurred, knowing for the pain she felt under where her fingers were still touching her nose that it was in fact something, something that would probably made her look like Frankenstein’s monster without make up for the rest of the month. Perhaps Gold will be up to change me from mummy to monster, she thought surly before focusing once again on the beautiful brunette that was nibbling her bottom lip while eyeing her.

The first time she had seen her had been during the first fright in which half of the crew that worked at the house participated as a new batch of people came in. The brunette had looked so proper dressed in a power suit, clean lines accentuating her figure, that Emma had had problems delivering the small speech she was supposed to say. Since then and as the group separated, she had been nervous to find her again. It was fitting for her bad luck to having managed to do it while receiving a punch for it.

The kid at the woman’s side was looking at her equally worried, the bloodied rags probably not making Emma any favors. “…go to find someone?” She heard being said between mother and child.

“I’m okay.” She assured quickly. Although she would later on talk to Gold she didn’t want any problems and the brunette woman seemed quite contrite as she studied her face. “Really.” She said one final time while trying to appear steadier than she really felt.

“I almost knocked you out.” The brunette replied quickly, her voice -now that Emma could hear it properly- soft and deep. “Someone should look at your nose…. I’m really really sorry miss…”

“Swan.” Emma replied automatically before shrugging, the pain she felt on her nose as the “n” rolled out of mouth making her flinch. “Emma Swan. And it’s fine, I… shouldn’t have tried to scare you like that.”

“Isn’t that the point here?” The woman replied with a gentle voice, her eyes gleaming for a second in banter as Emma looked at them. So close the blonde felt herself getting even more nervous.

“Yes, I mean… I shouldn’t have done it like that. Normally I don’t appear until you’ve passed the part of the corridor over there.” She explained while pointing at where she meant. The lights were still prepared for such effect and the place she was supposed to appear was illuminated dimly, the slightly more open space of that part of the corridor obvious from where the three of them stood. “But I didn’t realize you were so advanced already on the itinerary until you turned the corner…”

She was rambling and the pain on her nose was becoming even worse so she stopped, touching the bridge carefully only to hiss in pain. A cool, calming hand took hers and Emma found herself staring once again at dark brown eyes who inspected her face carefully.

“It looks broken.” The woman stated with a heavy sigh.

“She hates haunted houses.” The boy chimed in. “That’s why I asked her to carry me but she gets jumpy whenever we enter one.”

“Henry” The brunette warned sternly, a small trace of red dusting her cheeks before she focused on Emma once again. “I’m really sorry for this. I will take care of anything you might need and I will talk with your boos about this… I shouldn’t have reacted that way, not prepared fright or not.”

Emma eyed the woman, sensing that the woman was indeed telling the truth. Swallowing down once again she shook her head, looking at the boy before focusing once again on the woman. “Thank you.” She replied, meaning it. “I should have known better though, and you really hit strong by the way. Gym?”

Idiot, stupid idiot.

But the woman didn’t seem to mind her poor and obvious intents of filtration because she merely smiled and helped her to stay upright as she asked the boy, Henry, to go ahead.

“I’m really sorry.” The brunette said once again, lip trapped between her teeth as they walked slowly towards the main exit. The necklace she wore reflected the light and for a second Emma’s eyes were drawn to it, on the peek that granted her of the woman’s smooth-looking neck. Ashamed to be thinking like that she turned her gaze away, blushing slightly as she chastised herself.

“It’s fine.” She said, repeating herself. “I’m sure you weren’t planning to hit a random mummy at a haunted house just for kicks.”

The woman chuckled at that. “No, not in the slightest.”

They were soon out in the dying light of the last hours of the evening and Emma narrowed her eyes, the movement alone making her gasp slightly. Definetely broken.

As she saw David, the man with his zombie-make up still on but looking worriedly at her and approaching where they stood as Henry trailed closely behind him, she turned towards the brunette, her brown eyes seeming even richer under natural light.

“Thank you for accompanying me.” She said sincerely “Not many would have done it.”

“Not many would have punched you.” The other replied with a small self-deprecating smile.

“True… ma’am?” Emma asked, mirroring the woman’s previous question. As dumb as she felt she could feel her smile widening when the brunette chuckled -her voice deeper than before-

“Regina Mills.”

David arrived and Emma didn’t have the chance to talk much with Regina alone before that. The brunette answered truthfully to the questions the man asked and waited only to look at Emma one final time as the woman was decided to be carried to the hospital by David himself “Gold can suck it; you need a doctor now.”

However, one month later she saw a couple, woman and a boy, at the queue of the house. That time she got the phone-number of the brunette beauty.

And without a broken nose.


	12. The one in which Emma is a witch hunter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Swans were the greatest witch hunters of their time but what happens when Emma Swan falls for head witch Regina Mills.

The blonde stood in the middle of the inn, the wooden walls, covered in shields and a layer of ash product of the many fires the big fireplaces it had had contained seemed to vibrate as more than 50 people hold their breaths. Old and young, men and women alike were focused on the three women seated at the bigger part of the inn, the three of them clothed in brown and black leather, all of them wearing the same sign Emma herself still had hanging around her neck embroidered on top of their hearts; a swan in mid-flight.

Emma crossed her arms tightly at her back, her feet slightly apart, her weight evenly distributed as she had been taught. Her eyes were focused on the younger of the three women, a brunette one whose eyes refused to meet her own no matter how many times she tried. Her gloved hands clenched for a moment before she let them relax, her long hair, carefully tied in a pony-tail, brushing her back as she swallowed, eyes never leaving the woman she had once upon a time seek for guidance.

A slightly older-looking woman, the one seated between the other two, stood as a wave of murmurs filled the place. Outside, the wind howled, the smell of rain and humid furs hovering over the heads of the ones inside the room, the discarded capes the culprits of such stench. Emma felt a part of her perking up as a new howl inserted itself among the other; a wolf calling for the moon.

“Emma Swan”

Her own name was what made her look away from the brunette woman to the one speaking, the one who was told to have taught her mother and her mother before that when the war against The Queen of Hearts have been at its darkest peak. Blue, the fairy.

“You have been summoned to this jury in order to be told what kind of punishment it is expected for you to accept due to recent behaviors. No doubt exists about your guilt. Do you accept these terms?”

“So civilized” Emma thought with an inward scoff, her green eyes glowing ever so slightly as she felt another pendant, one hidden below her clothes, below the iron and sacred writings she had been taught to keep written inside the fabric of her clothes ever since she had been ten-years-old, warm up against her skin. A quiet reminder, a silent promise.

Outside the wolf howled a second time.

“I accept.” She finally said, loud and clear, the ones around her hiding gasps behind open hands, the symbol of their order, same as Emma’s, seeming to twinkle as they moved like one, flames lighting the polished metal as if winking back at the blonde’s words. Emma’s mother closed her eyes, allowing Blue to continue when the fairy turned to look at her, the tips of her fingers touching the wooden surface of the table that stood between Emma and the three of them. At the other side of Blue another old woman growled once, hands polishing the crossbow she had been nursing ever since the jury had taken its place.

“You have been found guilty to the crime of being associated with a witch in the middle of the night and proofs conclude that you have also been inside of their circle of power as well during nights like this one.” Blue kept going, her voice raising atop the rest of the witch hunters, her eyes cold when she settled them on Emma. The young woman kept still, her back starting to feel sweaty against the cold dagger she had managed to sneak in after she had been forced to leave her weapons at the door of the inn. She, however, didn’t move a muscle when Blue straightened her back even more, eyes glowing in barely hidden disgust before she spoke once again.

“The witch you have been seen with matches the description of none other than Regina Mills, spawn of The Queen of hearts and responsible for the lives that were lost up north Midas kingdom during the troll wars one month ago. Do you refute this?”

Emma cleared her throat before nodding once, the groan her mother let out; lips twitching and eyes closed almost making her sigh before nodding once, muscles tightening as she said “No, I do not” for the whole audience to listen.

She knew what would come next, she knew she could have run, could have left, but a part of her had wanted to be brave, had wanted to face the punishment.

“I’ve been a runaway, going from town to town ever since I was a little child.” She had whispered to Regina, fingers weaving through thick black tresses splayed atop of her chest. Regina hadn’t say a thing, her own right hand writing runes only she could understand on Emma’s flesh, the lines glowing purple before transforming themselves back into air. “I need to do this.”

“You have been a member of this community for as long you were born.” Blue kept talking, relentless, and a part of Emma wondered if the fairy, the one who had always looked at her icily whenever Emma dared to ask about details of the why’s and who’s no one else but her asked about wasn’t strangely happy because of this. “Your family is one of the most prominent ones regarding the hunt of witches from the times of the war against the Queen of Hearts.”

Snow said nothing, her hands clutched tightly in front of her, Emma’s father ring seemed to glow as Emma returned her eyes towards her.

“Is for that,” Blue added, her triumphant stance souring for a second as Granny chuckled coldly, not even bothering to hide her glee when Blue eyed her warningly “That instead of facing death you will be only expulsed from this community, for this family, due to your sins. Do you accept these terms; Emma?”

The lack of surname behind her name hurt but the perspective of living didn’t and for a second Emma blinked stupidly before she was able to nod briefly, her tongue wetting her lips as she stared at Blue, the woman rising her hand, her pixie-like features seeming almost cruel under the warm lights of the place. Around Emma the multitude muttered once again, epithets like “traitor” being said over and over again.

“Give me your necklace, child. And you will be able to go.”

Emma took two steps forward, her left hand raising, unknotting the pendant and giving it to Blue who closed her hand tightly around it before she turned towards Snow, the woman still refusing to look at anything but her own hands, shoulders slumped and posture crouched.

“It’s done.”

Snow nodded, Granny laughed openly, eliciting something close to a growl from Blue as the rest of the audience went from Emma to the others, waiting, expecting.

Emma, however, didn’t plan on make any kind of fuss; she was free to go, free to be herself and for that she turned and grabbed the long sword that always accompanied her, vials and medicines the second and last thing she picked in complete silence.

Outside, the wolf howled for a third time.

Granny muttered something at Emma’s back, the sound never reaching Emma’s ears as she glanced at the men and women gathered inside the place one final time before nodding her farewells to the three women still waiting behind the table. Snow never moved, Blue didn’t either and Granny…

Granny was smiling, her eyes seeming almost to glow orange, crossbow between her knees and a feral smirk on place.

“Go.” She said.

Emma picked up the door and opened it, raindrops finding their way inside before she was able to close it behind her.

The wolf howled a fourth and final time, the rain stopped and the moon, clear and bright, shone between the dark forest’s trees just as Emma took a step outside the inn’s porch and into the arms of a woman that the ones looking through the windows could sworn that hadn’t been there until a few seconds before. Dark and long tresses and brown, deep eyes matching a black and purple outfit in which runes and enchantments glowed faintly, beckoned the blonde’s body as the two of them hugged tightly.

And then, before they even could pick up their weapons, the two women were gone.


	13. Where we got to see more of Emma as a witch hunter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A woman is casting a spell at the entrance of an ancient ruins, someone looks at the distance and then watches how the full moon of Samhain covers in tones of deep red for an instant, and realizes that woman is the sorcerer the villagers hire to kill. The Sorcerer knows about the witch hunter and she’s decided to confront him but she's surprised to face a woman instead and something in between the conversation makes them connect" Asked by thegardensofthemoon

-13-

Emma breathed slowly, the smell of fire and sandalwood reaching her nostrils as she crouched even more in the mud-layered floor. The woods around her were silent and still and the chill breeze that seemed to run between the branches also hovered over the blonde’s head, waiting. In front of her a decrepit set of ruins raised, barely illuminated by a set of small fires that licked the crackled stones leaving behind black lines the moonlight illuminated eerily. Wetting her lips, the blonde narrowed her eyes at the sight in front of her, her chest expanding ever so slightly as she took another gulp of air, the sandalwood’s scent only becoming stronger as she did so. Grasping the handle of the dagger she always had strapped to her right boot Emma’s whole body tensed as the silver moonlight turned into a deep red hue, black shadows gathering around the trees, hissing words Emma couldn’t even pronounce, as a distinct chanting she had been following ever since she had exited the village a few miles away came even stronger, growing into the night’s sky.

The blonde’s eyes went to the standing silhouette that had appeared in the middle of the bonfires, a shadow of purple mist seeming to glow for a second between the crackling flames before disappearing completely, the bloody red color of the moon only becoming even darker under the newcomer’s presence. Emma’s muscles ached as she eyed the figure, her left hand grasping the swan-pendant she always wore, the wood beads that hung from her leather gloves clicking together, showing the protective words that always accompanied her. The back of her neck was sweaty as she moved ever so slightly to her right, her right hand still grasping the handle of her dagger, the iron-mixed-with-silver- blade almost glowing as Emma unsheathed it from its leather cover.

She had first supposed that the job wouldn’t be any different from the ones she was already more than accustomed to; find the witch and stop her. However, when she had started to hear the words about the witch that seemed to have decided to take residence on the small yet well-situated village, she had realized that the work wasn’t going to be like others and certainly the one she was supposed to catch wasn’t certainly a normal witch. Now, standing before her with her arms raised and runes writing themselves into the magic air Emma watched completely enchanted to the woman that had been call many names and was, above them all, the Queen and monarch of all the witch-clans of the entire forest. Regina Mills, daughter of the Queen of Hearts.

A fine prize for a witch hunter and definetely a very dangerous foe to anyone.

The blonde woman, however, wasn’t afraid and as she narrowed her eyes, trying to see anything that could help her, the witch’s back quivered under the firelights, her arms lowering as the runes disappeared in a burst of energy, chanting beginning to fade.

“The job is done, hunter.” She called, her words a purring whisper that made Emma swallow, the leather doublet she always wore seeming heavy as she stood, the muscles of her legs protesting slightly as she changed positions. “Are you going to show yourself or I will need to force you?”

Emma hummed quietly, assessing her surroundings; the bonfires were still lighted and the woods at her back didn’t really present an option. Biting on her bottom lip she took a step towards the border of the trees, her free hand grabbing a second weapon strapped at her back, the curved blade of it glowing red when the moonlight touched it.

The witch’s face was still in shadows and it wasn’t until Emma had entered inside the circle she felt her presence like she had been instructed, that the essence of magic touched her face, the only part of herself that wasn’t covered by layers of leather. “I’m here.” She said, raising her voice, steadying herself as she raised her arms a few inches, her boots scrapping against the broken stones and dead leaves that covered the ruin’s floor. Once upon a time a temple could have been there but now only the solitary column the witch had used to create a center of the circle of bonfires stood, its surface almost as crackled as the floor beneath it.

The sound of her voice echoed disturbingly causing the witch to tilt her head, as if in wonder, before she fully revealed herself, a look of surprise quickly being hidden by a smirk. A smirk painted in dark red lips.

“You are not exactly what I expected.”

The words made Emma swallow as she also tried to hide her shock; for the many witches she had both haunted and heard about Regina was certainly the first one who had taken her breath away. Growling inwardly due to her own thoughts Emma grabbed the handles of her daggers even tighter as she stood as tall as she was, noticing the high heels the witch wore when she took a step towards her, the sound of heels against the floor ricocheting against the ruined walls.

“Definetely not.” The brunette repeated, almost as if she was saying it to herself, her eyes falling quickly on Emma’s pendant, a swan in mid-air, before returning to the blonde’s eyes, brown eyes glowing almost amusedly. “But you are already on the high circles uh? You must be an excellent hunter.”

“I can’t say I’m not.” Emma replied back, haughtily, as she tried to follow the Queen’s movements without actually moving her upper body. The brunette chuckled at that, the dark dress she wore clinging to her as she moved, her eyes never leaving Emma’s.

“How about a little game then? If you are truly the best.”

Emma said nothing, she could have already started the battle, the witch technically defenseless, but her curiosity got the best of her.

“Let’s call it a race. If you find me three more times… I will willingly admit defeat.”

“Easy.” Emma replied, trying to appear calm as the witch took another step towards her, the smell of sandalwood tickling her nose. Regina smirked at her answer and touched the blonde’s pendant, her fingers tracing the lines of the swan slowly as the blonde remained rooted to the stone, unable to move.

“Catch me then, hunter.” Came the whisper before a purple fog surrounded the two of them, Emma suddenly finding herself alone in the middle of the woods with the moonlight returning to its silver color as the last bits of the other woman’s hex disappeared.

Emma closed her eyes in anger; she had broken the very first rule of a hunter; never enter a witch’s power circle and never make any kind of deal with one. “I will catch you.” She growled to the night, not knowing that two set of eyes; one brown and mischievous and the other wolf-like golden were eyeing her.

“We will see…” Regina whispered from where she stood, already feeling herself interested on the young huntress, on the way she had stepped inside her circle without a trace of fear or hatred. “We will see.”


	14. Where Emma was Cora's servant and everything is slightly messy until is not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma is a servant in the dark witch Cora Mills castle, Cora dies suddenly which prompts the return of her daughter Regina and her son Henry back to the castle.

Emma had seen her fear the second the woman had come out of the carriage, a book on one hand and dark robes as her mask covering her silhouette. The boy that had exited just right behind her had, instead,  looked curious and that also had spiked Emma’s mind. During her years as a servant she had heard many rumors about the mistress daughter, about her deeds as the Dark One’s sorceress and later as the best known sorceress on all lands nearby. However, during her years of servitude never once the woman had even appeared on the castle and so the blonde had found herself looking through half-closed eyes as the servitude was presented to what would be their new Mistress. Emma hadn’t been sure she really mourned the former one but she, alongside with the others, had nodded before returning to their jobs, Emma doing it so while looking for a second time to both mother and son; the two of them talking to each other in whispers that weren’t loud enough for the blonde’s ears to catch.

Fear and worry had still been present when, a few days after that, Emma had seen a glimpse of the woman in the late hours of the night. The mistress, - Regina Emma’s mind provided, even after all her years unused to call someone by something else than just a name. - was reading some thick book Emma had also seen Cora looking at from time to time. The blonde had left before the sorceress caught her and she hadn’t say a thing about such encounter even when the first rumors about how the brunette seemed just as absorbed in magic as their former mistress had been started to be heard between the staff.

The boy, however, was something else and it was himself the one who had approached Emma one afternoon as she quietly folded some of the winter furs the castle would soon been full of. He had stood for several minutes next to the doorjamb with a thoughtful expression on his face and something close to intrigue on his eyes. Emma had done her best to keep her face blank but after a few minutes she had turned, locking her eyes with the boy in the process; asking silently what he wanted.

“You were here before? With my… with the queen of hearts I mean.”

Emma had nodded at that, remembering the day she had first heard such title, remembering the time before that, when she had been free. Something the boy didn’t need to know

“How… what she was like?” And there it was, curiousness, interest. And as Emma bit down on her lip and tried to decide if the boy truly wanted the real version of how the woman had been Henry had already seated in front of her, earnestly waiting for her to tell the story.

The blonde had decided on that moment that she liked the young noble. Not that she told him everything of course, or even the whole truth but the boy didn’t seem to mind.

From that day Henry sometimes approached her with questions about either the former Mistress, the castle or the lands surrounding them. Emma didn’t exactly press for information in return and the boy didn’t exactly provided it but sometimes he said things the blonde stored up like the fact that both his mother and himself had basically been forced to leave the most inhabited place of the enchanted forest after Cora’s death; the threats made against Regina, the intrigues she had suddenly been subjected to; too much for the sorceress that had tried to leave her mother’s shadow ever since she had left her place as the Dark One’s adviser. All of those things didn’t really matter, not to Emma at least, but she soon enough found herself enjoying their little chats, finding the boy as interesting as the mother but much less complicated to treat or serve.

Yes, Regina was a complicated mistress, one that loved perfection and who wished for loneliness even more than Cora herself had wanted or asked for. Emma didn’t exactly ask Henry why, she supposed that the boy himself didn’t know.

Until one day, when they both had been talking as Emma busied herself with the latest petition from the cooker when Regina had passed near and had asked for Henry’s presence the second she had seen him talking to her. The boy, sullenly, had followed her mother’s petition not after muttering to Emma how they would continue their talk afterwards. Only that there wasn’t an afterwards and Emma found himself between an unspoken battle with the sorceress for the boy’s affection. No one that could be called open or obvious but Emma liked the little revenges she got whenever she didn’t follow a rule or managed to sneak a few minutes with Henry, the boy’s interest for everything that existed and lived around him truly astonishing.

And so it had arrived the day when she had been summoned to the main chambers, a place she could remember all too well from her time as Cora’s servant. Nervous but still slightly rebellious she had appeared looking as demure as possible but still with her eyes dangerously looking at the other woman, refusing to look at her feet even when Regina left the parchment she had been reading until her arrival and had looked at her with an arched brow.

“I’ve asked around.” She had said and there it was, the fear, the nervousness, the eagerness, and Emma wondered if Regina wasn’t as trapped as she was inside this castle. “About who you are, about who you can be in order to belief that you can even put a foot near my son and fill his head with stories about my mother.”

Her voice had trembled for a moment and Emma had remained silent, back as straight as possible and eyes cold as stone.

“I’ve found that you worked for and served solely to her during her last days as the Queen’s of hearts.” The brunette continued, one hand pointing at what Emma recognized as lists of names and places she hadn’t heard about ever since she had been caught at Midas’ borders. “It suits her, being here even after her death.”

Emma had wanted to claim that she was innocent, Regina’s eyes burning, filled with the pride of a mother wanting to protect her son. Which Emma couldn’t blame her for, not exactly.

“So tell me,” Regina had said, chin raised and eyes gleaming with just the tiniest spark of magic. A threat. “What did you do? You didn’t leave after her death so that makes me wonder what you truly want.”

Emma had opened her mouth, not entirely sure of what to respond until she had looked at Regina’s eyes. Mistress, her mind provided, but she had never been good enough for titles, hadn’t she? Licking her lips and trying to look as strong as the other woman tried as well she told about her powers, about how she had been discovered by Cora herself, alone and wandering in the middle of the forest, not knowing where to go or what to do. She had talked about the incessant hexes she had helped to create, her magic force something far much stronger than what Cora herself would ever be able to create. She had talked about experiments and prisons with a heavy heart and the doubt of how far she would be able to push until Regina called her a liar.

Surprisingly, the brunette hadn’t done that and when Emma had finished telling her story she had remained silent, her eyes piercing Emma’s, never leaving them as she walked towards her, hands outstretched, grabbing her hand before examining it, seeming to look for something Emma had also sometimes tried to search for when she hadn’t been in Cora’s presence. Although this time it must have been happened something because Regina had muttered a quiet “hum” that had left Emma with more answers than questions and a nod that had made the blonde throat to swallow.

“You are free to go.” Regina had said, her words heavy and tired. “But if you stay I promise I won’t use your powers like she did, ever again.”

_“I will still be a servant.”_ Emma had wanted to say. _“Still tied to you.”_ But she hadn’t done that because something inside of her told her to wait, to be quiet.

Regina had followed her promise, even after Emma had told her that she wasn’t sure of what path she wanted to take; to leave or to go. “You will know.” She had stated.

And indeed she had known, she had known two months after that when Regina had come down the servant’s rooms and had asked for her presence, gleaming eyes and fumbling hands and the excited admission that she had realized how to destroy one of her mother’s last curses, the one that still hovered over a small part of the enchanted forest. Emma had smiled warmly at her; remembering herself the day she had been forced to siphon her magic in order to create such curse.

Regina had kissed her that night, and the night after that and when Henry, all smirks and knowing eyes, had asked Emma about it the blonde had stuttered before blushing slightly.

Emma hadn’t exactly been good with titles, ever, but the first night the brunette had asked for her to stay the night she had whispered a quiet “My majesty” that had echoed through the chamber as well as Regina’s moan.

And that had been enough signal for her to stay. And for Regina as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this we reach the end of this year's series. It had been a blast and thank you so much to the ones that commented on it and even asked me some of these prompts. If you hadn't left a review commenting is always appreciated and feeds my soul so you know ;)  
> I'm on tumblr as shadowdianne and on twitter with the same name as well if you ever want to chat or ask me any kind of prompt. Take care and Happy Halloween!


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